Westphal Is Trying to Stay in the Present

Paul Westphal would rather discuss Pepperdine’s strong start than the coaching situation at his alma mater, but he’s linked to USC and the position is open. That’s a new twist on a familiar subject for Westphal, one he acknowledged he couldn’t ignore.

“You hear your name out there, I’m not oblivious to that, but coaches love to minimize distractions,” Westphal said in his campus office.

“I’m going to do the best in my ability to just focus on playing UCLA.... There’s really nothing else to be gained by any other approach.”

His approach is working.

Pepperdine (7-1) has equaled its best start since the 1985-86 season, extending its winning streak to seven Wednesday night in an 86-78 victory over Nevada Las Vegas at Firestone Fieldhouse.

The big and talented Waves play the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion today in what could be a showcase game for senior forward Glen McGowan and Westphal, who along with former Utah coach Rick Majerus is a leading candidate for the USC job.

Although the Bruins start a freshman backcourt and their top inside players have not provided stability, a Pepperdine victory at Pauley Pavilion would make Westphal even more attractive to Trojan boosters who want Athletic Director Mike Garrett to bring home the best basketball player in the school’s history.

“I’ve been bombarded with e-mails,” Garrett said. “There are a lot of people making their choice clear.”

The speculation centered on Majerus and Westphal from the moment Monday that Garrett announced the abrupt firing of Henry Bibby four games into his ninth season. Garrett, who rarely goes into detail on personnel matters, stoked the fire while making complimentary comments about them.

“Everyone wants people to think that they can do a good job,” Westphal said. “If there are kind words said, wherever they might come from, I think any human being appreciates that.”

USC is talking with Majerus, an ESPN studio analyst after having retired from Utah last season for health reasons. Majerus might be uncomfortable abandoning ESPN in the first year of his contract, and Westphal (USC ‘72) is occupied, trying to lead the Waves to the NCAA tournament for the second time in his four seasons at the helm.

USC interim coach Jim Saia is expected to finish the season, but Garrett also said a decision could be reached in about two weeks. What’s clear is that there’s strong support for Westphal.

“I’m probably as romantic as the next person,” Westphal said, “but I also have been around enough to know that you can never have your life validated by other people’s opinions, good or bad.

“What you need to try to do is deal with the true stuff, and sometimes that’s not all that easy to sort out when you’re in the public eye. But I do appreciate any good things that come my way.”

Westphal’s Pepperdine team has been rolling since a disappointing season-opening loss to East Carolina in the BCA Invitational at Raleigh, N.C. Pepperdine has size and depth, qualities it lacked the previous two seasons because of injuries.

“We had a bunch of midgets trying to play out of position,” Westphal said. “Good players, but nobody was playing the right position for two years. We got our butts kicked on the boards every game.”

That’s not the case these days. Forwards McGowan and Yakhouba Diawara and guard Alex Acker have the look of future pros. Some coaches say Pepperdine might be more talented than No. 25 Gonzaga, a school the Waves figure to battle for the West Coast Conference title.

“We have different types of teams,” Westphal said. “McGowan, Diawara and Alex Acker are all-conference-caliber players, and I know Gonzaga has a few all-conference-caliber players as well.

“A lot of it just depends on how stuff fits together. We need to have those guys play up to their potential and have some of our other guys fill in and complement them. If that happens, maybe we do, but we’re a long way from having that verdict.”

Despite UCLA’s deficiencies, Pepperdine could learn more about itself today.

“I’ve been impressed with what they’ve done this year,” Westphal said of the Bruins. “They let that Boston College game get away from them, but they’ve got a really special group of young players.

“Going into Pauley Pavilion with the talent they have, it’s not some game we can say, ‘Oh, yeah, we should win.’ But we can win.”

*

Staying Power

Illinois moved to the top spot in the Associated Press top-25 poll this week and should remain there for much of the season.

The Big Ten’s best team won’t go undefeated because that’s too difficult to do these days, but the experienced Illini are headed toward big things.

Junior guards Dee Brown and Deron Williams run the offense equally well, senior guard Luther Head is a dynamic scorer and senior forward Roger Powell Jr. is a consistent force.

This bunch won’t be intimidated in any setting.

*

Top Player?

Rashad McCants sure had that look last week in leading North Carolina to a 91-78 rout of Kentucky at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The junior swingman scored a season-high 28 points and displayed a focused, unselfish approach, something at times missing from his performances the previous two seasons. McCants, averaging 20.3 points, appears to have bought into Coach Roy Williams’ program, which is good news for Tar Heel fans.

*

Well Traveled

St. Mary’s knows about life on the road.

By the time they open WCC play, the Gaels will have traveled 16,527 miles.

They had two East Coast trips in a two-week span, having played in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at New York’s Madison Square Garden, then at Rutgers on Nov.

27.

St. Mary’s has one more trip, playing at Hawaii today, and then on to San Diego State on Tuesday, racking up another 5,455 miles. The Gaels are 3-3 on the road.

*

UCLA VS.

PEPPERDINE

Today at Pauley Pavilion

3 p.m., FSNW2